Forcing travel sports league on young kids is trash, amirite?

Lots of kids love playing their sport. It doesn't matter that the kid "will likely never amount to anything in the sports world." Hobbies and activities don't exist to someday make you famous or rich.

by One_Department 1 week ago

Those "hobbies and activities" is quite the charitable way to put it. As a Canadian, I see this alot with hockey, but it's not treated as a hobby. My brother's son does hockey 8 months of the year. It costs their family thousands of dollars they don't have, takes up EVERYONE'S free time, and keeps my nephew from doing literally anything else. We have hockey schools as well, where parents put their kid in a school that has hockey practice everyday before or after classes. And why hockey? Do you think it's just a coincidence that we're Canadian and my nephew loves hockey and wants to play if all the time? No. He was raised to love hockey, like he would love soccer if he was raised in the UK or Brazil. So let's not pretend that the "love" for their sport is pure. No, it's usually engineered. I'm fine with my nephew playing a sport, but not to the detriment of his social life and other interests. He hasn't been able to attend a friend's birthday party in years because he's too busy. He's never been camping, horseback riding, to an amusement park. He has no other hobbies. He doesn't even own a bike (partly because all the family's activity money is spent on hockey, partly because he doesn't have time to ride it).

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Canadian u18 hockey is probably the most competitive sport other than maybe Texas/florida football. If the kid enjoys what he's doing what's the problem, unfortunately the only way to get onto a good team is to be extremely athleticly gifted or practice like it's your job.

by grantcamryn 1 week ago

If the kid enjoys what he's doing what's the problem The problem is the kid gives up so much of a normal upbringing, exposure to any other things the kid may love, and an education to be ready for the real world of young adulthood outside the bubble of one sport.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

That's a great way to put into words what I was trying to say.. "love that is engineered".

by Anonymous 1 week ago

"I know plenty of people" ah, anecdotes, the best we have when it comes to proving stuff.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I've seen a similar situation, where the kid showed some promise for a sport (Tennis) at an early age, and the parents spent money they didn't have to try and see if he could make it as a pro. and they not only spent way more money on him then they did on the other kids, they prioritised him in many other ways. Every weekend the whole family has to go to a tournament, he doesn't have to do house chores because he's either training or he has to rest, and loads of other stuff like that. Well it was all for nothing as he didn't grow tall and big enough to be even remotely competitive once puberty hit as he stayed 25lbs lighter and 6 inches shorter than the smaller competitors. All that pressure and hype did have an impact on him and he struggled with depression in his late teenage years and early 20s but at least he got back up on his feet and he works as a coach.

by No_Club4436 1 week ago

i mean just cause someone is doing hockey it doesnt mean its a detriment to their social life its usually a boon

by Anonymous 1 week ago

They miss a lot of school for it. That can be a major set back.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I played baseball all the way into college. Just because I love the sport, doesnt mean my son has to. He played other sports for 2 or 3 years before asking if he could play baseball. He loves the sport now but I will not put him in travel until at least 12 and only if he is willing to put in the time. I refuse to force practice on my child

by Anonymous 1 week ago

playing on a team for 10 games or whatever is a hobby. Spending every summer weekend driving to a tournament to play for 8 hours a day and having your parents spend thousands of dollars on gear, lessons, practice, etc is not a hobby.

by HatLow 1 week ago

That's the point though. Kids' sports are now being treated as more than just a fun hobby. It's taken way too seriously.

by Bartholome70 1 week ago

No. They exist to make someone else rich. The amount of money I've seen my sister-in-law pour into youth sports is staggering. Endless time and tens of thousands of dollars for leagues, travel, coaching, and naturally surgery and physical therapy. Any other hobby and people would aghast, but sports get a free pass for some reason.

by scot06 1 week ago

I would argue that there are few who actually "love" it to the insane degree and level of commitment that a travel league requires. Rec league down the road with 2 practices a week is one thing - that's a hobby. Paying ridiculous league fees, practice every day and traveling every weekend across the country for 4 months is on another level of stupidity. Who loves it more at that point - the dad or the kid?

by Anonymous 1 week ago

What do the fees have to do with the kid enjoying it? If that's what the family wants to spend their money on, then what's the harm?

by One_Department 1 week ago

Sorry for the double reply, but did you play sports growing up? A lot of kids are competitive and showing up to rec and dominating every body isn't fun for them or the other kids.

by Puzzleheaded_Fox 1 week ago

Yea I agree it sounds like he was prolly a phys ed warrior. Kids who are good at sports especially hockey pretty much have to travel to play other teams of there ranking

by grantcamryn 1 week ago

Most rec leagues don't put in enough work to allow a kid to compete in high school. Rec is what it is. Recreation. And my kid didn't play travel sports.

by braden41 1 week ago

Even just running up and down the hallways... My adult self feels sorry for all the adults trying to sleep with a bunch of 10-12 year olds filling the hotel!

by NaturalCondition7793 1 week ago

Rec baseball leagues are all but gone though. So if a kid likes baseball, travel is his option.

by Cummeratamichea 1 week ago

Tell us you're lazy without telling us

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I LOVED playing baseball in travel leagues and all stars when I was a kid. Also you have to try out for those teams and make the cut. If a kid really didn't want to they could get out of it.

by Flimsy-Nobody-2486 1 week ago

You made a good point about kids developing anxiety and a lot it does stim from being in a bubble playing video games all day, then when they become a young adult they don't know how to really interact with their own peers. You don't need to be a world class cheerleader or the next lebron to no have aniexty. But i do think young kids interacting at the very least with each other can help

by Kbruen 1 week ago

This site is full of adults who were kids who got no social interaction. And it's overrun by incels and weirdos. Sports are great and a great thing for kids to be a part of.

by Cummeratamichea 1 week ago

Incels be like: bUt SpOrTs Is fUlL oF cHaDs!!!!1

by Many_Butterscotch436 1 week ago

All of them are. Incel is an ideology.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Yeah i agree and i am one of them. I hated sports as a kid because i sucked at them. I stayed inside played video games. Now I'm 28 feel so behind but it's all good though just have to try.

by Kbruen 1 week ago

my anxiety came from the horrible pressure to perform in travel sports. No kid should have that much pressure on them to throw a strike or hit a free throw. It's different for everyone obviously.

by HatLow 1 week ago

Yep there is a line, I agree. Just like with literally anything there's a line with going too far. Any alternative has a "you've gone too far". The middle of the pact is far healthier when the advice is to get your kid into sports

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Adding to this, I think folks aren't understanding parents as well. Particularly with sports, I hate when folks assume "most" parents/dads are trying to live vicariously through their kid. Does it happen? Absolutely. Does it happen "most" of the time? No. Parents being involved and providing opportunities is a good thing. That's not something that was always given in the past.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Sports dads?!? Step up to the big leagues: Cheer Moms!!

by Bud05 1 week ago

Just tell us you sucked at sports as a kid and now hate them because of it…

by Friesensheldon 1 week ago

Actually I didn't suck at sports. I was blessed with a very strong and athletic body and started in all the sports I played in HS. I had several scholarship offers to play college football that I turned down because my priority was schooling and I didn't want my education to be threatened.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Prove it

by Friesensheldon 1 week ago

Yeah, unfortunately, most sports are so competitive, to have a shot at playing at a division 1 college or going pro, you practically have to start at birth and dedicate your life to it. Is it worth it? For the .5% who make it that far I'd say it was worth it, but for 95.5% of people.... well I hope you at least enjoyed it. For me, if one of my hobbies feels like a job, it would take the fun out of it. The kid would have to be completely obsessed I'd imagine.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

95.5 + 0.5 ≠ 100

by Less-Woodpecker2859 1 week ago

What happens to the other 4%?

by Anonymous 1 week ago

They died

by Anonymous 1 week ago

It's tough since it's a mix. I know a lot of kids who loved travel and it helped them be good in high school and for some college and at the minimum made them friends It's hard to tell what kids enjoy and what kids hate it. I have a lot of friends who did travel basketball but it "went nowhere" as they were only good enough for the high school level. But they absolutely love basketball and always playing it after work for fun, and same with a few soccer kids.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

It's not though, just ask them. If they hate it then do something else. If they love it, then help them succeed while letting them enjoy it at their own pace.

by HatLow 1 week ago

I'm not speaking as a parent I'm talking in general. Unless a kid is actively bad they usually don't tell strangers they hate a sport (that usually comes in middle school or later)

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I used to practically beg my parents not to play and they forced me everytime. All it's resulted in is an adult with a seething hatred of organized sports. Don't force your kids into things they clearly hateS

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Eh to play devils advocate, you do have to force your kids to try and not quit some stuff. I hated doing most stuff as a kid and just wanted to sit home and play video games, but my parents made sure I had some sort of activity to do especially as a younger child. I feel like I would have been worse off if just played video games all day rather then be forced to play sports or learn piano or whatever I was doing

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Read up on the " sports academy " type schools, rich parents create so their kids can play. Parents are way too involved in kids sports. The chances of most kids playing professionally is very low, and not worth the time and effort.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

The funny part is when they say "the kid can get a scholarship," because they spend so much over the years that it's often cheaper to just pay the college

by Frosty_Celery 1 week ago

My take is that athletics play an EQUALLY important role in education. But, exceptions should not be made for athletes in regards to their academics. Kids need to be taught that extra privileges, like sports, come with extra responsibilities.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

IMO sports shouldn't be a school activity at all but a community ran after school thing. Sports are a game, school is far more important. College sports also shouldn't exist I said what I said ¯_(ツ)_/ so many asshat football players got away with anything on my college campus from not being smart enough to be in the classes to being racist or homophobic or hurting women. All for the name of division 3 sports.

by Global_Street817 1 week ago

Travel leagues are not the issue. Like you said it's the parents. I've seen more insane parents at a 5 year old rec soccer game than at a travel league. I agree pushing a kid way too hard at something they don't enjoy isn't good. Find the happy medium, let them try for a season and go from there.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I completely agree. Sports used to be bonding for kids who lived near each other. Now it's you are either part of this "lifestyle", or your kid is not going to find other kids to play with outside. It's truly frustrating for those of us who have kids who like sports, but also like having fun, and don't want to be overly competitive. The competitive focus has killed the joy for too many.

by Open_Lobster 1 week ago

A lot of us had great experiences with travel sports. Of course, some parents took things too far and pressured their kid too much, but that wasn't a problem with travel sports, it's a problem with parents and would've happened in any sort of sports teams/leagues, whether very amateur or more organized. Im not sure what makes "travel leagues" different from other sports leagues in your mind. You seem to think they are worse for kids, but really they are just often more organized, allow teams to face greater opposition, etc. What is wrong with that?

by Successful-Start 1 week ago

I kinda feel this way about our whole school system. Yeah of course there are some things they learn that are important. But a lot of the time is spent on stuff that doesn't really help you as an adult.

by InternetEmotional 1 week ago

Leaning the basics of how our world works is vastly more useful than traveling around the country to play sportsball.

by hauer 1 week ago

This reminds me of the classic baseball south park episode.

by hauer 1 week ago

that episode nailed it.

by HatLow 1 week ago

I think having a demanding athletic-type activity is good at a young age. It teaches discipline, hard work, determination, teamwork and I'm sure other good traits. You'd be surprised how many people I've met lack all those and are struggling. And the thing is, at that age it's so easy to pick up things, when you're older it's a lot more difficult and you won't have the time but if you love it enough you'll keep doing it.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

We don't need to get rid of travel sports but we certainly need to put less pressure on the kids. I was in travel hockey and I'm afraid it did irreversible damage

by Yasminsmitham 1 week ago

Maybe this is different where you live but the sports I am familiar with aren't that competitive at young ages. There are rec/house leagues and community leagues but the commitments are pretty small. Within the city the travel is between communities, so less than half an hour each way but in small towns the travel can be significant. They tend to cap the tournaments to two per year, one inside the city and one travel tournament to a nearby town or city. With hockey I know that parents put their kids in lessons and camps outside of practice but most of them are paying close attention to their child's interest level. Many kids want to be on the ice 3 or 4 days a week but most parents don't want to spend hundreds of dollars to fight with their kids. Competitive sports starts at U-13 in most cases. Maybe 10% of kids who play sports join the competitive leagues, and the vast majority of them want to be there.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

It's a mix, but it is a dangerous culture that's been created over the last 30yrs or so. There are the parents that are living vicariously, but for a large part the way sports are these days it's almost a necessity for kids to be doing all these things if they want to remain competitive in their goal of getting scholarships or ultimately becoming a pro. These leagues are how the kids are found, they get invited to camps and what have you, this is a huge way for scouts to see these kids as the traditional just visiting high school games isn't the way anymore. I think parents are part of the blame but the system overall has evolved to this point to where the parents have little choice and if there kid wants to participate this is how they have to participate. Blame on professional leagues, colleges, high schools, these entities deserve higher blame for how things are when it comes to sports and kids.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I think this really depends on the individual case. There are definitely psycho parents who push sports on kids who don't want it. But there are also kids who really like sports. Just because you never liked sports to that level doesn't mean that no one else does. I was never into sports, but I was super into arts and crafts. I would spend hours drawing, painting, sewing, whatever. Sometimes I would stay up until 2 am just to finish whatever project I was working on. Some people might not understand why I would want to spend so many hours by myself on a drawing, or how I could enjoy "old people hobbies" like knitting. It's really difficult to be a successful artist, so why would I put all this effort into art when it will amount to nothing? Except it doesn't amount to nothing. I enjoy doing it, I can express myself, and it taught me patience and problem solving. It's the same thing with sports. Some kids really like it, and it gives them an outlet. Are there crazy parents who need to take a serious chill pill? Absolutely. But there are also kids who do like sports to that level. Side note, I agree that traveling league sports is probably too expensive, and you can accomplish similar results with whatever local league. Yes it seems a bit silly, but if the kid likes it and their parents can afford it, i think it's fine.

by BitterLingonberry526 1 week ago

I'll admit some guilt here. While I know having my kids in sports is objectively good for them, I now realize I was taking it too far, trying to get them into every camp, clinic, class available. I was definitely guilty of living vicariously through them. How do I know? Because I started playing myself, and suddenly my drive to get them into stuff they weren't even asking for was reduced and replaced by a drive to improve myself. They still play house league, but unless they specifically ask me they want to attend a clinic or camp or go to tryouts for higher level hockey, I just let it be, and they seem as happy as before and we are all more relaxed.

by Isaias80 1 week ago

Rec leagues are just as much fun for a fraction of the cost and time. Time parents can use to do things with their kids rather than drive around and sit on the sidelines while the kids are engaged in sports or waiting to perform. We did a couple years of competitive gymnastics and that was enough for our family - I'd much rather have my kid do a rec level sport with one or two practices a week for a defined season than do a year round, 4 or 5 days a week practice plus traveling to meets on the weekends during the competitive season. We use that time so much better just making dinner together at home and doing things together that we all enjoy on the weekends.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Learning & executing team sports is exactly how you teach a kid to be a good person and learn. Almost nothing better for social development than being on a team with your peers. Almost nothing better for physical development & long term athleticism than sports as a kid. There's setting goals that require dedication & perseverance. It's a microcosm for life, a safe space where children get to practice all the important parts of life in a consequence free situation. For every one kid forced into sports there are 50 who take it up enthusiastically. Your entire argument hinges on the assumption that the kid doesn't want to engage in these sports - that's you projecting. I'm sorry you had the experience you did, but it has seriously warped your worldview. I hope you don't transfer your trauma to your kids if they want to engage in competitive sport.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

ehhhh. Team sports build so many other aspects of your life. Traveling equals amazing memories. I am sure some could be what you are representing. However for the most part i have seen really REALLY positive stuff through sports.

by connerruecker 1 week ago

If it's not your money why care

by TimelyBear 1 week ago

They could care less? So, they care???

by StoreApprehensive456 1 week ago

Two of my nephews are in hockey and miss a stupid amount of school for tournaments. It's so clear they only "enjoy" hockey, because it makes daddy care and pay attention.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Sounds like a lot of time, effort and money for not a lot of payoff. Not everyone is gonna be a star.

by Low-Mycologist6004 1 week ago

Not a terribly unpopular opinion. We're not a sports family. My kid does swim lessons 45 minutes twice a week and it still feels like a big commitment. She's not competitive at all. It makes me happy that she just does it because she enjoys it and really loves her coach. Also: all kids should be swimming for safety. Kids who can't swim (or aren't strong swimmers) are a danger to themselves and others. Swimming should be a school requirement like it is in parts of Europe. So much needless tragedy in our country.

by Streichviolet 1 week ago

Tbh I wish my parents made me do a sport. I feel lazy as anything, I WFH and I just don't have the discipline to exercise regularly.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

most kids playing travel sports enjoy it.

by braden41 1 week ago

Playing summer ball was literally the best time of my life as a kid. It's how I made so many friends from other schools. It wasn't my idea to do it but my parents moved heaven and earth to get me to play and it was incredible.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

couldn't care less

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Takes like this are why we have an obesity problem

by Anonymous 1 week ago